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Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
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Please enter a valid zip code

Never Miss a Chance to Do the Most Good

Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!

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<H1><B>I-Build </B></H1> Image

I-Build

Youth Construction Skills Program

Salem Kroc Center’s I-Build Program

A free construction skills youth training program to prepare youth and young adults ages 15-24 to thrive and succeed the real world.
FREE Pizza I-Build Open House Night on Wed Jan 8th at 5PM - Parents Encouraged to join their Child

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Build Your Skills

Now Enrolling Young Adults Ages 15-24 for Fall/Winter

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I-Build is a new Kroc Center youth summer program that was conceived, developed, and launched in 2024 to provide needed academic recovery and employability skills training to high school students on the edge of falling through the cracks on their way to adulthood.

Our initial class of 24 SKPS teens spent eight weeks of their summer in the program. Remarkably, all participants had 100% attendance. They built 12 shed/cottage units for the unhoused, and learned valuable career and life skills along the way. All 12 units are staying local and will be donated to Church at the Park.

Participants in the first I-Build program earned:

  •  Hands-on practical construction experience
  •  Oregon Employability skills
  •  Credit recovery in math and English
  •  OSHA 10 Certification
  •  First Aid/CPR Certification
  •  Chemeketa College – APR101 College Credit
  •  WiseMind social and emotional wellness – helping students manage stress and anxiety

The I-Build program was rapidly conceived, coordinated, and managed by Tony Frazier, Executive Director of the Salem Kroc Center, in response to an urgent request from leaders at Team Oregon Build to fill a need. Tony is passionate about workplace development for teens, and drew from his experience in construction and as a community organizer to pull the I-Build program together in less than a month. County and State workforce and education executives from around Oregon have visited the I-Build site, and see it as a model to be replicated for their regions.

Current list of Kroc Center partners supporting I-Build:

Teen and young adult years are crucial for social, educational, and career development. In the past five years, too many youths have become disconnected, and have opted out of school and work. These disconnected youth are described as NEETs, Not in Education, Employment, or Training. A 2023 study by the International Labour Organization found that about 11.2% of young adults ages 15 to 24 in the U.S. were considered as NEETs. Young people who are not in employment nor in education or training are at risk of falling behind, becoming socially excluded, and economically disenfranchised, lacking the skills to improve their economic situation.

(503) 798-4813
Racheal Rivera-Carnley, I-Build & REBOUND Program Lead - EMAIL: [email protected]

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